This invention utilizes the demountable corner design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,037 to Del Frari.
The art of U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,037 addresses access and usage of conventional furniture by the disabled. This disclosure addresses assisted access to and usage of standard household, craft, and work items by improving people's ability to stabilize objects for viewing and for applying work forces to them.
Enhanced usage of commonplace items by the disabled such as a paint brush for crafts, a funnel for pouring, print directions for baking, requires consideration of a complete and unobstructed view of the task from all angles, the working distance or reach needed to do the task, bilateral strength needed, and atypical posture needs of the user dependency on a wheelchair, walker, etc.
Increased utility of holding devices comes from portability and ease of use. Efficiency and reliability of the surface bond between holding device and support surface should be immediate on all substantially flat, stable surfaces. Prior art discloses holding devices that avoid the restrictions of clamping said devices to a support by employing vacuum, magnetic, and adhesive means, or mass of the objects being held to stabilize their mount onto workplace or domestic furniture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,022 to Rankin on Oct. 28, 1997 disclosed a clamping device employing a means of establishing an air pressure differential between the bottom contact surface of a holding apparatus and the top side working surface of said device. This device's variable pressure differential allows it to adhere to any relatively flat surface, a surface with curve, or a curved and irregular surface. The disadvantage to this art is the need for a source of compressed air or inert gas to modify the vacuum pressure to meet surface conditions. Compressed air is available in few homes and a hose line lead from said apparatus to said air supply would be hazardous. Additionally, said device vertically applies holding pressure covering the top an object and thereby limits the actions that can be effected on its top surface; this is restrictive to many tasks such as opening a can with a standard can opener.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,427 to Steinhilber on Feb. 2, 1994 discloses a device that employs multiple textile adhesive closure fasteners to secure a vertical support column of a holding device to a piece of furniture. This means of attachment requires locating a plurality of places to situate adhesive closures on the furniture to which the device is being applied so as to join the device's support column to both the floor and to a side of the article of furniture; therefore, placement of this device requires planning, access to the sides and top of the furniture, and strength to manage its proportions and apply pressure where needed. This makes multiple requirements that give weak consideration to applications that require holding for a very brief period, quick shifting of position of the holding device, or the needs of the disabled.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,431 to Nielsen on Nov. 11, 1974 discloses the desirability of not applying clamps, screws, or other such fasteners to an article of furniture in order to secure a holding device to it. Disclosed in his “Extensible Mounting Assembly with Means to Grip Desk” is the employment of a “resilient material” to the undersurface of members that engage the furniture's surfaces so that no damage is done when mounting and dismounting the device. While the attachment is not abusive to a furniture surface its “means to grip” the desk depends upon access to the furniture's side ledges and applying pressure from a plurality of locations by the turning of threaded knobs. As with the Steinhilber disclosure the working space required by the location of multiple places to apply pressure against the furniture's frame make it a poor remedy to the need for a quick, highly portable means of assisting holding and to the needs of the disabled.
The abstract to U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,632 to Rubash and Rubash on Jan. 20, 1987 describes “A stable, fixed relationship for a holding device is obtained through the use of two interlocking end members. The device may also be adjusted to provide the ability to hold differently sized objects.” This invention overcomes the well cited prior art defect of exceedingly complicated locking relationships being necessary to readjust the lateral holding dimension to accommodate size variance of held objects. The disclosed device claims simplicity in locking in lateral dimensional change through the correspondence of insert and locking positions between the two end members. No estimate of the manual dexterity needed to execute the interlocking is provided. Its holding capability is largely limited to a preferred orientation for storage and display. Said interlocking end members inhibit access to the held object from both sides interfering with applying force to held object; also, object display is compromised by the blocking of side views by said end members. Its method of securing its position is the weight of the items captured between its opposed end members.
The bookshelf of U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,792 to Mulloy on Jul. 7, 1994 employs a pair of vertically oriented, opposed planar book supports with attached bases. “In a preferred embodiment, two identically constructed bases and book support members, each having a lock means mounted therein, are adjustably positioned” along a longitudinal guideway the bases attach to. This means of adjusting and locking the planar book supports against books overcomes the perceptual estimation skills needed by the locking means defined above in Rubash and Rubash. This device is not intended to hold objects for work to be done on them. Its planar supports occlude side views of the objects. It anticipates only one orientation of the objects being held; the upright position of books so that the identification data on their bindings can be seen and read. Its method of securing its position is the weight of the items captured between its opposed supports.
Citing the household situation that glasses, cans, bottles, and liquid vessels in general that have no structural means to stabilize themselves “are prone to being knocked down, as by bumping . . . ” U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,751 to Shen on Apr. 30, 1996 discloses a structure of a stand for holding liquids safe from the unintentional effects of daily living activity. Shen's disclosure maximizes said holding stand's ability to function on any substantially flat surface by employing a suction or vacuum means of stabilizing said holding stand. Activation of the pressure differential between the bottom surface of said stand and a base surface comes from applying force to a lifting apparatus. As a general holding apparatus the most apparent defect is that the disclosed holding device is for liquids only. Additional defects are the absence of display of items being held and the challenge a lifting motion to secure a good bond presents to the disabled.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,347 to Hannecke on Sep. 17, 2002 a means of holding and displaying objects ranging from thin sheets like pamphlets to merchandise boxes is disclosed. Said means derives from a modular column possessing longitudinally designated recesses receptive to positioning pegs or the like of adaptive display compartments which radially mount said column at said designated recesses. Disclosed is a system of aligning said display compartments within a display level and between successive display levels of said column. Said device is limited as a holding device in that its is purpose is the commercial display of thin and low-volume objects such as postal cards. Said device discloses clamping means for holding single sheets and the like in a rigid manner for viewing, not for applying work forces to objects.
Swiss Patent # CH 614112A to Wuerth on Nov. 11, 1979 discloses a large editing table for working on photographs and film. Disclosed is a rectangular worktable device with a surface comprised of glazed and opaque areas. A plurality of height adjustable, cantilevered arms attach to the table's frame and support multiple accessories in alignment over, or at an angles to, the glazed section of the table top. Wuerth discloses means of allowing the optical axis of a camera to be perpendicular to the glazed section of the work top. Alignment of items held in the cubic space above table top level is a challenge to the disabled. Height adjustable, cantilevered structural members with holding attachments may be used to vertically align components over a central work space; this helps to coordinate the multiple actions involved in film production techniques. No means of holding objects other than film related equipment on the table's surface are disclosed. It is hard to anticipate non-film related, domestic uses for this large device which presents access issues in terms of physical capacity of the user.
Benefit to the disabled may be anticipated from a device designed to “maximize the utilization of available space to accommodate work equipment with accessories i.e. table lighting, extension cords, keyboard support, copy holders, glare shields . . . ” U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,011 to Smith on May 5, 1992 discloses such a device in an “Accessory Track Apparatus”: a track for accessory items to be disposed “at a peripheral region of a top plate supporting a piece of equipment such as a personal computer.” Smith discloses a means of inserting a plurality of accessory holders into said track, locking the position of these holders and the accessories they support at a position peripheral to an object on the top plate, and removing the accessories from said track. The desirable outcome of holding accessories is mitigated by the lack of a means to hold the primary object of attention, the object on the top plate. Stabilization of the plate object is assumed by its mass as with a personal computer. Total visibility is available because no consideration is given to holding and stabilizing the object; everyday objects such as those identified by Shen above—“glasses, cans, bottles, and liquid vessels in general that have no structural means to stabilize themselves are prone to being knocked down, as by bumping” or inadvertent, unintentional hand movements characteristic of many disabling conditions. The objective of holding everyday objects as needed in their routine usage is poorly addressed by this device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,957 to Becker on Feb. 6, 2001 discloses an apparatus to hold flexible products of various sizes and configurations in a flat and secure position on a generally planar surface. Display of the held object is achieved by means of making said holding apparatus out of transparent material providing for visual access to all sides of the object and so that under lighting can illuminate the held item and said apparatus can function as a light table. The intent of the disclosed is for industrial purposes, to hold and retain products to be treated or processed. Said disclosure provides its own planar surface and is inherently a table designed to hold objects, not a portable holding device applicable to domestic purposes.
Prior art is improved upon by increased ease in applicability to all substantially flat, stable surfaces; prior art is improved upon by enhanced visual display of held objects; prior art is improved upon by a single device being able to hold and display sheet and bulk materials; prior art is improved upon if the device can provide for safety from accidental disturbance of unsecured objects; prior art is improved upon when the device aids alignment of components being held—laterally and vertically; prior art is improved upon when adjustments to size variation of grasped objects is made easier and more efficient; prior art is improved upon when the operation of a holding device gives consideration to the to the movement ability of its operators.
Limitations in prior art recommend a holding device which has the following characteristics: a) immediate usage upon being placed on any substantial flat and stable surface b) accessibility of object(s) being held—visually and to apply work forces c) efficient and flexible adjustments to holding means from thin sheet like materials to large bulk items d) provide for increased safety in the management of materials through means of stabilizing items from accidental forces and means for dispensing items which require caution when handling e) offer accommodation to disabled operators.